London (AFP)
The largest private collection of whiskeys, assembled until his death by an American amateur, was put up for sale on Friday by an auction site, the price of certain bottles being able to fly up to a million pounds.
Composed mainly of single malt Scottish whiskey, the whole of more than 3,900 bottles, qualified by the site Whiskyauctioneer.com of "perfect collection", will be sold in two times. The first part is offered until February 17. A second batch will follow from April 10 to 20.
This sale in two stages aims to "give buyers time to explore the collection in all its diversity", some bottles have never or rarely been seen at auction, explained the specialized auction site.
At the first sale, 1,949 bottles are offered, including a very rare bottle of Macallan Valerio Adami whiskey distilled in 1926 and aged in barrels for 60 years.
Last year, a bottle of whiskey from the same Scottish distillery, also distilled in 1926 and bottled in 1986, broke a record at auction in London starting at 1.45 million pounds, nearly 1.7 million euros.
The bottles offered for sale come from a collection by Richard Gooding, an American from Colorado who has spent decades creating a "perfect collection" of whiskeys, traveling regularly to Scotland in search of rare bottles.
For Iain McClune, founder of Whiskey Auctioneer, "the diversity" of this collection makes it particularly interesting. "From novice collectors to seasoned connoisseurs seeking to perfect their collection, there is something for all whiskey lovers," he said in a statement.
Becky Paskin, an expert in whiskey, distinguishes Stromness Old Orkney whiskey from the 1930s or that of the Dallas Dhu distillery from 1921, among the key pieces, both produced in distilleries that have since disappeared.
The precious liquid contained in these bottles "represents an era that no longer exists", she explains in the same press release. "They allow us to live a unique moment in time".
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